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Taylor Lumpkin will play guitar and sing with Lochness Mobsters at Friday night’s Live @ the Lakefront event. Another band with local roots, Ashes of Babylon, is also scheduled to play. (Daniel Castro / Special to the American Press)

Bands with local roots to give homecoming concert

Two bands that got their start in Calcasieu Parish and migrated to the southern music capital in Austin, Texas, will have
homecoming performances at Live @ the Lakefront Friday night, March 22.

The last of the three weekly music and art shows sponsored by the Arts Council of SWLA, the city of Lake Charles, and Deep
South Productions will be from 6 to 10 p.m. on the promenade behind the Lake Charles Civic Center.

The spotlight will be on Ashes of Babylon, a unique roots-reggae group, and surf rock-garage band trio Lochness Mobsters.
Representatives of both groups said they like to have fun on stage and bring their audiences along for the ride.

In addition to the music, the free event is promoting local art, food and culture of Southwest Louisiana, Erica McCreedy,
executive director of the Arts and Humanities council, said. Food booths and local artists will have their wares for sale
on the Lakefront Promenade.

Friday’s concert is additionally sponsored by Tobacco Free Living with additional support by Martin Insulation and Go Green
SWLA.

Core Ashes of Babylon members went to elementary school together in Sulphur and continued their friendship through the rest
of their school careers, said Beau Guidry, lead guitar and vocalist with the eight-member crew.

Each member brought his own genre into the mix.

Corey Saucier moved to Lake Charles and spent some time in the Virgin Islands.

“When he moved back, be brought an island sound with him,” Guidry said. “He was the driving force in organizing the band.”

“Eric Daigle on bass and Dan Robertson,
drums, brought in the jazz-funk element. The classically trained horns,
Max Sprigg
and Sam Chapman on trumpet and Jacob Crenshaw on sax, solidified
the jazz element. I and the other two vocalists, Scott Doland,
keyboard, and Crenshaw brought in R&B and hip-hop.”

The unusual band name was chosen because the ancient culture of Babylon was known for aggression and oppression, and we’re
all about fun and oppose any culture of oppression, Guidry said.

The Lochness Mobsters also has a variety of influences worked into its music, Michael Chavez, bass, said.

“We do a lot of mid-60s music with a lot of influences — The 13th Floor Elevator, the Animals and so forth,” he said.

The Lochness Mobsters migrated from Lake Charles to Austin five years ago and is going strong. Earlier this year the trio
performed at the South by Southwest festival, a major music and media conference and festival in Austin.

“It was pretty awesome,” he said.

Taylor Lumpkin plays guitar and sings, and Brooks Lumpkin is drummer.

“I want to thank everybody from Lake Charles for their support,” Chavez said. “It’s unreal to have the amount of support we
have received from Lake Charles.”